Benda, Georg Anton (1722, 1795)

Georg Anton Benda, Singspiel composer, was the most important son of a large Bohemian musical family. When he was twenty, the family removed to Potsdam to find work at the court, and so Benda became a violinist in Frederick the Great's orchestra.



Benda was a good oboist and pianist, but his importance lies in his contribution to the development of German musical drama.



His melodramas, such as "Ariadne auf Naxos" (1775), had a great influence on Mozart in his efforts to create a purely German opera. Benda's melodramas are original, since no actor sings; instead the music in the piece is borne exclusively by the orchestra.